Another Year, Another Brick in the Wall
by CasusFere
Summary: A Slytherin view on the end of the year feast, teachers, and life in general. Well, not so much the life part.


A/N- From the point of view of a nameless Slytherin... Has nothing to do with my other HP fic. Well, a few of these themes'll probably show up there. Set in some year where Dumbledore doesn't announce anything about Voldemort.  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything anyone else does.

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Another Gryffindor victory. Another feast with the Hall draped in red and gold. Another year. Another rigged contest. And they say we Slytherins cheat.

Every year, they do everything they can to keep _us_, the House whose defining characteristic is _ambition_, from winning. Because Slytherin is evil. Everyone knows that. Haven't you heard? Every wizard who's ever gone bad was from Slytherin, and everyone in Slytherin is happily heading down that road.

We've been told this since the day we were sorted. "You're a selfish brat," "We know you did it… Everyone does!" Never mind I actually hadn't done anything. It really wouldn't be so bad if it was just the students. After all, if I'd been here to make friends I'd have been in Hufflepuff. But it's not just the students; it's the teachers, too.

McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House. Oh, she'll take points of her precious Gryffindor brats, if they push her enough. If you're a Slytherin, though, put so much as a toe out of line and she's breathing down your neck. A Gryffindor answers a question, and it's "Ten points to Gryffindor!" How many points do you think a Slytherin gets? Not that we volunteer answers very often… we learn not to speak up early on. McGonagall has a fond-but-stern look for students who answer wrong, but for Slytherins she reserves this special you're-being-willfully-stupid-and-wasting-my-time-on-purpose glare. Get that _look_ directed at you a few times in first year, and you just loose all urges to volunteer answers.

Madame Pomfrey looks all kind and forgiving sitting up there, chattering away with Professor Sprout. Feh. She's far more forgiving of the injuries the Gryffindors inflict on themselves in their sheer stupid antics then the occasional Slytherin. Of course we're less forthcoming than the Gryffindors concerning our injuries... she doesn't march the Gryffindors in front of the Headmaster. Of course not! The Gryffindors wouldn't do anything _bad _or illegal… and that's all the Slytherins do. Everybody knows that!

Even Professor Sprout favors the Gryffindors. Being a Hufflepuff she values "loyalty" and "bravery" more than "ambition" and "cunning." Slytherins are anathema to her; she can't understand us.

And Dumbledore, in all his self-righteous glory. Wise, benevolent Dumbledore, finds every opportunity to give points, counsel, and every advantage to his precious Gryffindors. Slytherin wins the House Cup, and what does he do? Gives the Gryffindors 160 points, for something they shouldn't have done! Had they been Slytherins, what would the reaction have been?

Faced with that on all sides, is it any wonder Snape so blatantly favors us? Snape's the only Slytherin on the faculty. He's the only one who knows what it's like. He's not suited to teaching, but he tries. He's the only one who tries for us. No one outside the House sees it that way, though. They call him a sneaky bastard, who's abusing his position, cowardly trying to do in the Gryffindors. All he wants is that DADA position, and to make the Gryffindors miserable. They can't see that he wants the DADA position because he _cares._ Because he wants to see that we are prepared for what creeps in the night outside these walls. He can't be that _noble_… he's a Slytherin! We're all sneaky cowards. Just ask anyone.

I tripped yesterday. I was preoccupied, worrying about my finals, and I tripped on the last step of the stairs. Sent my books, quills, and papers flying, sprained my wrist when I hit the stone, all right in front of a knot of those brave, noble, _honorable _Gryffindors. And those _honorable_ Gryffindors laughed. Sick with embarrassment, I gathered up all my gear, sprained wrist and all, without one of _them_ lifting a finger.

And to think, people wonder why so many Slytherins end up joining the Dark Lord.

Snape's watching us… The other teachers are talking and laughing amongst themselves. The celebrating from the Gryffindor table drowns out the still-excited chattering from the rest of the students, leaving us Slytherins to choke down another meal in bitter silence. No one notices, no one would think it to be anything other than sulking over the failure of our 'underhanded tricks'… except for Snape.

It's nice to know someone cares.


End file.
